EF 400mm f2.8 l usm non IS lenses

[Speedfinder]

What was the purpose of these non IS lenses ? Were they made for some particular market/niche ?
Im wondering are they mk 1 or mk 2m ? They come in the old cases the FD lenses did.
If they were mk 2 I would get one as I always have the IS turned off as I use a tripod all the time.

 

[AlanF]

Canon first introduced IS in 1995. The big EF white lenses predate IS and came out before then, in the early 1990s.

 

[Speedfinder]

Thanks for solving that. I had not considered they were early versions. I was using my T90s and F1n long after digital cameras were around. I guessed at the time the digital cameras needed to mature so I held out until the Eos 1 was going out of fashion.
I might do the same with the R1 mk 2.

 

[CanonGrunt]

Thanks for solving that. I had not considered they were early versions. I was using my T90s and F1n long after digital cameras were around. I guessed at the time the digital cameras needed to mature so I held out until the Eos 1 was going out of fashion.
I might do the same with the R1 mk 2.

Fun fact, the EF 200mm f/1.8 came out before the FD version. There were several pros requesting a manual focus FD mount version so canon would “down convert” some. One of the last FD lenses made.

 

[Speedfinder]

I have only ever seen one FD 200 f 1.8, they must be a rare item.